A new 160-page book chronicling the Broadway life of the rock musicalMemphis — from the first performance to its big night as the 2010 Tony Award winner for Best Musical — is now available.

Official Memphis blogger Carolyn D. Miller, an associate of the musical's producing team Junkyard Dog, has kept the blog since the hit musical arrived at the Shubert Theatre Sept. 23, 2009.

"Memphis Lives in Me: One Blogger's Journey to Broadway and Beyond" is a collection of blog entries detailing the onstage and backstage action of the musical's first year on Broadway.

The soft-cover book includes numerous backstage photos by cast member Betsy Struxness and production photos by Chris Owyoung. "Memphis Lives in Me" shares memories of the first performance and opening night, as well as the recording of the cast album, celebrity visitors and fun facts about the cast and the show.

Tony Award-winning Memphis book writer and lyricist Joe DiPietro penned the intro to the tome that is edited by Sarah Nashman.

"Memphis Lives in Me: One Blogger's Journey to Broadway and Beyond" is currently available for purchase by clicking here. A representative for the musical told Playbill.com Miller is hoping a publisher will take on the book for wider distribution.

Bon Jovi songwriter and band member David Bryan and DiPietro penned the score to the musical, which is flavored with gospel, R&B, rock and soul sounds.

The rock musical about an interracial love affair in the 1950s segregated South stars Tony Award nominees Chad Kimball and Montego Glover.Memphis opened on Broadway Oct. 19, 2009, at the Shubert Theatre under the direction of Christopher Ashley.

I am freezing my jingle balls off today, but this song featuring my girl Liza and my homie Alan Cumming is warming my soul with its total and utter insanity. You should also buy the CD because it's for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS.

"IT'S SHO COLD."

My favorite is when she says, "What's in this drink" because it makes me feel like she is really asking me that question as we sit in her living room, downing cocktails and reminiscing about the old days when we would run around with David Gest and MJ and do fan kicks with Judy and Kay. What I wouldn't give to drink with her.

Monday, December 6, 2010

As the nation attempts to go on a debt diet, the cost of federally funded space missions, like the long-awaited manned mission to Mars, is being questioned. But two scientists are recommending a different approach that could change space exploration forever: leaving the astronauts there.

In their article from the Journal of Cosmology, scientists Dirk Schulze-Makuch of Washington State University and Paul Davies of Arizona State University propose making the mission to Mars a one-way trip.

"The purpose of doing this is to save money, to put it bluntly," Davies tells NPR's Audie Cornish.

"I think we've all had this dream of going to Mars — it has been something that has, for decades, been proposed — but it's one of these on-again-off-again projects because it is so phenomenally expensive. But by making the trip one way, you cut the cost dramatically, not just 50 percent, probably about as much as 80 percent. Then it becomes feasible."

Not A Suicide Mission

Davies envisions the astronaut who will travel to Mars to be in his or her 60s, with enough life experience and training to willingly take the journey into space. They would live off of a power source of some kind, ideally a nuclear reactor, and take enough medical and food supplies to sustain themselves through the rest of their life.

Ross D. Franklin/AP

Paul Davies, of Arizona State University, is one of two scientists who are proposing we send volunteers to Mars and leave them there.

Davies stresses that the journey would not be a suicide mission — more like the opportunity of a lifetime. "If you send a scientist to Mars, it's like a kid in a candy store," he says. His mailbox is already overflowing with volunteers ready for their final frontier.

"Really, this isn't a joy ride," says Davies. "You have to understand that the motivation for doing this is to not only open up a human presence on another planet, but to provide the opportunity to do some fantastic, groundbreaking science."

The U.S. Can Lead The Way

Legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who was the second person to step on the moon on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, agrees with Davies, to a certain degree. Aldrin is not one of the many volunteers lining up for the one-way mission to Mars, but he feels that the trip is inevitable — and it's important for the U.S. to pave the way.

"If we slow down now," Aldrin tells Cornish, "we will lose the opportunity for leadership in an international lunar development corporation."

Earlier this year, President Obama addressed a roomful of astronauts and scientists at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He spoke to them about the future of space exploration in the 21st century and affirmed his belief that NASA will be able to send astronauts to Mars and back by the mid-2030s.

But if scientists like Davies have their way, we may actually be living on the red planet by then.

Can't Buy Me Love is just an all time classic, and I have always wanted him to come and pick me up with his lawn mower.

That would just make my life.

*Note to self: get a lawn so I can be picked up by said lawn mower.

And then I went to college in Maine, where he grew up, and saw an advertisement for the pilot of a little show called Grey's Anatomy that was just getting started. The very first episode was going to air and he did a little interview with the local Lewiston, ME news and I watched it. Obviously.

LOOK AT THAT HOT MAN HOTNESS.

I distinctly remember watching the pilot and falling madly in love with Mister Dempsey all over again. The first few seasons of that show were SO GOOD. I never missed an episode and when I was living in San Francisco I would to go over to my aunt's house every week so we could watch it together.

And then, the show got kinda...not so dreamy. Even though I was a die hard fan, I stopped watching it.

I don't know what triggered it, but today I had a longing for McDreamy and his hospital antics. I want to watch him bein' all in charge of lives, messin' with hearts, yearning for a baby with Meredith (did they end up getting married?!), and I want to see him walk out of that trailer door by the lake all scruffy with bed head wearing a flannel, holding a cup of coffee.

Sweet holidayz I'm almost as hot as I was yesterday at the gym.

I think I'm going to Netflix Grey's and get back in the game. I'm really hoping it doesn't disappoint.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Yesterday the weather here in NYC blew. It was rainy, windy, and I had a major case of "don't wanna leave my apartment" in the morning. I did not make it to the gym. Go figure.

Which brings me to today's topic: Exercise facilities during the frigid months of the year. Today I finally realized that winter had arrived when I got to the gym and it was so hot in there that I wanted to barf. I know that many buildings suffer from this disorder during the winter, but a gym is the worst possible place to have heat issues.

1. You're working out and already generating enough heat as it is.

2. Extra heat makes the already "Sweatiest Man Alive on the Treadmill Next to You" sweat even MORE (which I previously did not think humanly possible).

3. When you get out of the shower post workout and get dressed, you start sweating all over again because the heat is, literally, on. There is no "cool down" after your work out. The only thing going "down" is the sweat travelling from my back towards my ass and there is nothing "cool" about it.

4. When you walk out the door after said experience, you are greeted with a blast of whapass chill that feels a million times worse than it really is because you've been stuck in a glass box of tropical torture.

So, I beg of you gym, turn the heat DOWN. Save some energy, save some lives, keep me hydrated, and for the love of Liza, do it for the Sweaty Guy. I don't think he will survive much longer.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I will be off the grid celebrating Turkey Time with my family. I'm looking forward to enjoying parades, football games, talent shows, charades, laughter induced side cramps, sweet potato apple side dishes that make me swoon with delight, hugs, and movies.

My favorite holiday is tomorrow and I simply cannot wait.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I am so very thankful for all of the ridiculously special people who are in my life.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Like a good little girl, I always bring my lunch to work after my weekly cooking marathons on Sunday nights (except this week my Mom cooked!!). This morning, I put my tupperware in a bag when I left my apartment and stuck it in the office fridge on the way to my desk. After working for a bit I realized I was getting cold and opened my purse to pull out my sweater, but I couldn't find it for the life of me. I took everything out of my bag and still...no sweater.

That's when I remembered my OTHER bag.

Yes. The one that had been in the refrigerator for almost an hour.

I calmly walked to the kitchen like it was no big thing, opened my bag, and there it was. My lovely little sweater was a ball of cold wool on top of my lasagna. I took it out, sat on it for about 5 minutes to warm it up, and then was able to put it on.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

I'd like to take this opportunity to briefly address my new term. I am proud to introduce you to:

"DON'T IGNITE ME."

If someone is challenging you, pushing you to the edge, really frosting your cookies, and they're about to make you explode, just whip around and be all, "DON'T IGNITE ME" and be sure to use your finger all pointy like or do some sort of gesturey gesture.

They will be terrified of your fierceness and let you have your way.

You can also put a positive spin on the igniting by being all, "I am going to get so ignited this afternoon and completely clean my apartment until it shines like the top of the Chrysler Building."

My new expression will be really handy for you this holiday season because you will be able to use it multiple ways:

1. At holiday family functions when your sibling or parental unit or other drunken family member makes you want to scream but you don't want to cause a ruckus by raising your voice. Just turn your head, through clenched teeth drop the "Don't ignite me" bomb on them, and walk away. Mission accomplished, crisis averted, everyone's happy.

2. If someone tries to hand you a drink after you've already had 12 and you're worried you might get a little too drunk. You can say, "Oh no, don't get me all ignited!" meaning, "If I drink anymore alcohol I will literally be able to be set on fire. You will be able to flammabalize me."

Ohh...that's a new one. Flammabalize.

3. On New Years, you can exclaim, "I'm getting ignited this year! All my dreamz are going to come true in 2011!" Meaning...ok you should get that one on your own.

I hope you enjoy your ignition and please let me know if you have any questions.

Friday, November 12, 2010

After I got to work today I realized that the waistband of my tights is, well, no longer tight. I keep having to yank those suckers back up and it is driving me crazy.

A visual aid:

I really hope that whatever is covering your lower body today is staying up nice and secure. I am minutes away from just taking a role of duct tape into the bathroom with me and taping my tights to my stomach. I will be the MacGyver of the fashion world.

I love looking at the world, seeing where I've been, and realizing there are so many places I haven't seen...YET. And, I'm not going to lie, I still play that game where you spin the globe around with your eyes closed and put your finger down and wherever you land is where you're supposed to live next or go on your honeymoon or whatever.

I love that game.

If you do, too, you will enjoy this video. It shows you how globes are made!!

The money was a "headache," they told the paper--mainly, it brought anxiety over the prospect that "crooked people" might take advantage of them. Several people called them out of the blue to ask for money when the news first broke that they'd won the jackpot. So they began an $11 million donation spree to get rid of it and help others, the Chronicle Herald reports:

They took care of family first and then began delivering donations to the two pages' worth of groups they had decided on, including the local fire department, churches, cemeteries, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, hospitals in Truro and Halifax, where Violet underwent her cancer treatment, and organizations that fight cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes. The list goes on and on.

"It made us feel good," Violet told the Chronicle Herald. "And there's so much good being done with that money."

The Nova Scotia couple have been married more than 35 years and quietly saved up the money that Allen made as a welder and Violet made in retail before retiring.

"We haven't spent one cent on ourselves because we've been too busy getting everything looked after and with my health, I have to wait to get my health back to get the energy to do anything," Violet told the National Post. "We're not travelers anyway. We live in the country and we're proud of it. Money can't buy you health or happiness."

Now their neighborhood is abuzz over their good deeds.

"People who know them just know that's the type of people they are—they're just happy to have each other," local restaurant owner Lori Hingley told the Canadian Press.

The prize was in Canada dollars (roughly equal to U.S. dollars at current exchange rates).

I'm being gracious by saying he was running. He was more scootin' and tootin' along, but I would slow down and take it easy, too, if I had on such a fabulous outfit. I'd want to be sure everyone could see me and take note.

Also, I give major high fives to anyone who is up and moving around. You go, Spandex Stan! You go!

And, to the freakishly old man who looked like he weighed about 4lbs and completely burned me at the end of the loop:

Friday, October 22, 2010

Thursday, October 21, 2010

I've been listening to Beach House for quite some time and Sanchez and I were lucky enough to see them live for his birthday last year. They are beyond, their most recent album is killer, and Lindsanity is finally starting to listen to them.

FINALLY.

Regarding "Take Care," one of the best tracks on the album, Lindsanity offered the following advice:

"Don't listen to it on the way in to work. Because you will want to get off the train, return to Brooklyn, get into bed, and sob."

My response:

"I'm already at work. Which is, like, better and worse. Because I want to weep anyways when I'm here because it blowz. And then adding this song to the mix, I'm just...I'm just.

I THINK I NEED TO BE HELD."

Behold.

And now watch the music video.

Don't be weirded out, don't be judgey, just let yourself get into it. I find it insanely heartbreaking and moving and uplifting. And you should, too.

Buffalo Grove authorities fielded a 911 call from a 10-year-old boy complaining about an unhappy meal served by his father, police confirmed Tuesday.

The boy dialed 911 about 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14, and said while the dinner his father gave him was edible, it wasn't to his liking, Buffalo Grove police Cmdr. Steve Husak said.

Husak didn't know what food was served. The boy's father was at the home at the time of the call, and police did speak to him, Husak said.

An officer advised the boy over the phone of when it is proper to dial 911, but no further action was taken.

“Most people utilize the 911 system correctly, however there are rare occasions in which citizens need to be reminded of the parameters of what is and is not a police matter," Husak said.

A similar incident happened in November 2009, when a 15-year-old Buffalo Grove boy called 911 to complain that his parents took away his video game system. The teen questioned if his parents had legal grounds to take away his joystick. Police told him to listen to his parents and no charges or arrests were made.

"This "fight song" was first used to open the radio broadcasts of Giants games on then flagship station KSFO in San Francisco. The saying is based off of the home run call of Hall Of Fame broadcaster Russ Hodges. An instrumental version is currently used on television at the end of the inning whenever a Giant hits a home run."

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Hey y'all. Here are the videos of our performances at the Memphis party. The first is our original tune, The Note Song. There's some voice-over from a video in the middle, so don't get confused. The second is our cover of "Someday" from the musical itself.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Last night my band had the extreme pleasure of playing at the "Memmy's," the giant party celebrating Memphis The Musical's first full year on Broadway. The insanely wonderful Miz Millah organized the entire evening which was held at B. B. Kings and it was a total blast. David Bryan, the keyboardist from Bon Jovi, wrote the music to the show and he was right there in the audience. We were asked to cover the song "Someday" from Memphis and were a bit nervous when we found out the guy who wrote it would be there. But, he came up to us afterwards and told us that we were great!

Relief!

Here are just a few shots from our dressing room backstage:

The Mandolin Man folding his pants to put in the fridge.

Bass Boy stole the banjo.

Oh, don't you just love her.

If you put the banjo and the melodica together you'd get a Banjodica.

Or a Melanjo.

The dudes.

It's never too late for a rehearsal.

Ahoy. I'm backstage.

Trying to squeeze us all in...

Wait for it...

Success!

More photos taken by an actual photographer to come. But thank you so much to Miz Millah and the entire Memphis team for such an incredible night!

About Me

I act on stage with real people and real musicians as opposed to starring opposite my cousins and the soundtrack from Pippi Longstocking. I love music, champagne, hot toddies, and NPR. And I am a black belt in like, everything.